WEC 30 Preview

By Jason Probst

Jeff Bedard vs. Miguel Torres
This bantamweight bout should establish a title contender for the winner of the Beebe-Yahya fight. If not immediately, then likely in a fight or two down the road. A three-time state champ in high school, and NAIA national champ in college, Bedard took a decision over journeyman Mike French at the June 3 WEC show, and was admittedly rusty coming off a layoff of nearly ten months. What he did show was a pretty solid wrestling game, as you’d expect, positional dominance, and a no-nonsense attack.

Torres, meanwhile, has a zillion fights, with an official record of 18-1, and perhaps twice as many wins once you add up his bouts in the early days of his career. Fighting since 2000, Torres has appeared in plenty of marginal shows, fighting bigger guys and doing battle just about everywhere. You can’t find a substitute for that kind of experience and with a standup game that is apparently pretty good he should be fun to watch if he can keep it on the feet. Against Bedard, he might have to. This could come down to the kind of back-and-forth fight where one guy is at a severe disadvantage, depending on where the bout goes.

Jeremiah Billington vs. Brian Stann
With a New York Times article on him last May, as well as MTV News and other media outlets covering his impressive story, Marine Lt. Brian Stann marches along into his fifth bout. There isn’t much else the guy can do but win a belt, seeing as how he’s already been awarded the Silver Star for combat heroism in Iraq, currently commands a company of Marines, and is a graduate of the Naval Academy. You add up his four first-round stoppages, and they average 2:17. Stann hasn’t been fazed by the attention and pretty much comes out slugging from the jump.

With a 10-1 record, Billington comes off the Midwest small show circuit, with more than half of his wins first round blowouts. The key bout is his loss, a submission defeat to Jason Black, who is a natural welterweight. This one figures to be a one-round slug out of somebody. It’d be nice to see it hit the ground so you could get a better of idea of the full package of whoever wins, as the WEC 205-lb. division is probably the thinnest in terms of overall potential challengers for the belt owned by champ Doug “Rhino” Marshall.

Chase Beebe vs. Rani Yahya
WEC Bantamweight title
A pretty clear style contrast here, as champ Beebe makes a tough first defense against submission ace Yahya, who’s dropping down from 145. Beebe was impressive in his five-round decision win over Eddie Wineland to take the belt, fighting a steady 25 minutes without fading. That tells you what kind of mental fortitude the guy has, because with a record of 12-1, his only fight that went past the first round previously was a three-round decision loss. Going five rounds is probably twice as hard as going three, and doing it for the first time without fading means he’ll only be better now that he’s got a marathon five-rounder under his belt.

In that bout, Beebe also showed serviceable standup, and as a four-time Illinois state wrestling champ, he was dominant with takedowns and positional control.

Yahya isn’t just another submission guy with a reputation for technical wizardry. He’s the winner of the Abu Dhabi tournament in 2007, making him -- for now -- the world’s best 145-lb. no-gi grappler. And his first-round rear naked choke win over Mark Hominick on June 3 was equal parts impressive and surreal. Stunned by a punch from the hard-hitting Hominick in the opening moments, Yahya proceeded to unleash, literally, a dozen takedown attempts as Hominick scrambled to get free, none of which reminded anybody of John Smith. But eventually he got the fight to the mat, cleared his head, took the back and sunk the choke. He’s pretty much in his element when the fight’s on the mat and he’s extremely dangerous.

The old question presents itself: in an MMA match pitting a strong wrestler against a submission stylist, who has the edge when the jiu-jitsu guy is on his back? The answer to that depends on conditioning, awareness of both guys and how their standup plays out. If Beebe can establish an edge on the feet he’ll definitely be putting himself in the driver’s seat, and with his wrestling background and likely advantage standing it might not be a bad idea to slow the pace down and make it a grinding kind of fight. Also, another wild card is Yahya making 135 and how well he can do that without being sapped. This should be a tough fight and is definitely going to give whoever emerges as the WEC bantamweight boss some street cred.

“Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton
WEC Lightweight title
Champ McCullough definitely has his plate full here, with Crunkilton bringing impressive credentials and a very good ground game. As a former world champion kickboxer, McCullough will obviously have the advantage standing, as he can unleash strikes in wicked sequences to take opponents out. However, “Cleat” should have the edge on the ground. With a good wrestling base and solid jiu-jitsu, he likes to take the fight to the ground and wear opponents out with constant pressure, always working and improving position, making them expend energy.

With records of 14-3 (McCullough) and 17-1 (Crunkilton), neither guy has ever been stopped, and in a five-round fight conditioning will come into play. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see two fights in one -- McCullough being effective on the feet and getting the challenger in trouble, only to be taken down and controlled for stretches as Crunkilton works to set up a submission, or tries to grind the champion into exhaustion. The more exciting it is, the better McCullough’s odds are, and Crunkilton will definitely have to time his takedowns and tie-ups with care. And while he’s facing a potent striker, Crunkilton has a pretty good beard. This is definitely a pick-em type of fight and whoever leaves with the belt will be the guy that implemented his will last, if not first.

Other bouts on the card…
Joe Benoit vs. Blas Avena
Coty Wheeler vs. Ian McCall
Kenneth Alexander vs. Donald Cerrone
Brian Baker vs. Jesse Forbes
Scott McAfee vs. Marcus Hicks
Marcelo Brito vs. John Alessio